Triode Beelzebub or Phat Phuk B for Clean boost/mild OD

I currently have the Grizzly Bass which is a great pedal! but am just looking for some variety to my dirt

The Beelzebub doesn't have much bass related info but being actually tube driven makes me interested and the price is right..the WC Phat Phuk B just sounds good from every demo I hear...Anyone tried both? I don't really care much for distortion..I like mild phat OD and full out fuzz, not much of an in between guy. So I guess I'm looking for what most of you Broadcast users talk about what that pedal does to your tone, an always on character enhancer.

I played a Fender American Jazz through a Mesa all tube stack the other day and it was just fat creamy beastly-ness...looking for a pedal that can get me there or close without actually having that setup

I currently have the Grizzly Bass which is a great pedal! but am just looking for some variety to my dirt

The Beelzebub doesn't have much bass related info but being actually tube driven makes me interested and the price is right..the WC Phat Phuk B just sounds good from every demo I hear...Anyone tried both? I don't really care much for distortion..I like mild phat OD and full out fuzz, not much of an in between guy. So I guess I'm looking for what most of you Broadcast users talk about what that pedal does to your tone, an always on character enhancer.

I played a Fender American Jazz through a Mesa all tube stack the other day and it was just fat creamy beastly-ness...looking for a pedal that can get me there or close without actually having that setup

or should I just get both? lol

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I've had both. I ran the Beelze at 12Vs which helped it out compared to 9V IMO. I didn't have both at the same time to do a direct A/B comparison.
I also use a jazz bass and a L-2000 through a Mesa Boogie tube amp (Buster) and IMO I like what the Phat Phuk B does for my sound/tone more than the Beelze did. I don't think any choice is the wrong one so if you find a great deal on the Beelze, go for it but try and run it a 12Vs if you can. Overall though the PPB has the magic sauce and it is tasty!

The beelzebub was an always on permanent fixture of my board for a couple years and I really liked it. I’m also now on my 3rd PPB which I really like as well so you should probably just get both!

Only reason I got rid of the beelzebub was I wanted to find something with a little cleaner top end and fund an AU Drive that came up since it was reported to be a little cleaner. The PPB definitely has that cleaner, shinier upper end content which I really like though. So ya, both.

I currently have the Grizzly Bass which is a great pedal! but am just looking for some variety to my dirt

The Beelzebub doesn't have much bass related info but being actually tube driven makes me interested and the price is right..the WC Phat Phuk B just sounds good from every demo I hear...Anyone tried both? I don't really care much for distortion..I like mild phat OD and full out fuzz, not much of an in between guy. So I guess I'm looking for what most of you Broadcast users talk about what that pedal does to your tone, an always on character enhancer.

I played a Fender American Jazz through a Mesa all tube stack the other day and it was just fat creamy beastly-ness...looking for a pedal that can get me there or close without actually having that setup

or should I just get both? lol

Click to expand...

Tonal magic pedals are one of my things. I currently have and run a Phat Phuk B, a Broadcast, a CCP Valvecaster, a Nocturne DynoBrain, and a Southampton Fifth Gear. Each of them is a slightly different type of tonal magic, but they all fit that bill.

Based upon what you are looking for, I'd say any of those ones I listed would fit the bill, and ideally you should try them all out. Honestly, I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them. I'd be very hard pressed to say which one of them I love the most!

I guess so.
Diaper dude said the same thing I said in the 2nd post of this thread. Beelze is way better at 12 volts than at 9 volts.
We have similar gear and out of these two pedals the PPB has what you are looking for, more character in the tone.
Even more so when you fine tune the PPB with the trim pot inside.

I guess so.
Diaper dude said the same thing I said in the 2nd post of this thread. Beelze is way better at 12 volts than at 9 volts.
We have similar gear and out of these two pedals the PPB has what you are looking for, more character in the tone.
Even more so when you fine tune the PPB with the trim pot inside.

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so can the PPB get a full on overdriven tone?, like not just a slight drive but a "full drive" kind of sound?

no real demos of it online at all except for the ancient and kind of crappy one from Wren and Cuff themselves (sorry guys lol). I'd be looking to keep it as an always on, but if I can crank the knob all the way up for more saturated overdrive (not distortion) then I am sold

This video demo has a GREAT tone, albeit slightly different pedal, all you TBérs say the original PPB sounds better, so if it sounds better than this we have a winner

so can the PPB get a full on overdriven tone?, like not just a slight drive but a "full drive" kind of sound?

no real demos of it online at all except for the ancient and kind of crappy one from Wren and Cuff themselves (sorry guys lol). I'd be looking to keep it as an always on, but if I can crank the knob all the way up for more saturated overdrive (not distortion) then I am sold

This video demo has a GREAT tone, albeit slightly different pedal, all you TBérs say the original PPB sounds better, so if it sounds better than this we have a winner

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One thing to remember with the PPB is that the outer knob is not a drive/saturation knob - it's a gain/volume control.

The PPB is a booster pedal regardless of how you tweak the internal trim pot to adjust the germ circuit. IME, the trim pot will adjust how gritty, balanced, or fat the germanium character is, and by default some trim pot settings will require a higher or lower level on the outer knob to achieve unity gain. That said, mine dialed in has a pretty crazy amount of boost on tap and I am careful to check the level of the main control before clicking it on. Mine was bumped to probably 3 or 4:00 one time without me noticing and I thought I ripped a cone when I activated it in the middle of playing.

But as the owner of both the PPB and Grizzly I can tell you that the Grizzly set at low gain on the overdrive side is very similar to the PPB. In fact the breakup on them is very very similar, almost to a fault as they both kinda choke identically on the B string from my active basses. Thing about the Grizzly is the plethora of tools it provides. Clean boost, overdrive, distortion, mid scoop, and low pass filter.

But as the owner of both the PPB and Grizzly I can tell you that the Grizzly set at low gain on the overdrive side is very similar to the PPB. In fact the breakup on them is very very similar, almost to a fault as they both kinda choke identically on the B string from my active basses. Thing about the Grizzly is the plethora of tools it provides. Clean boost, overdrive, distortion, mid scoop, and low pass filter.

But as the owner of both the PPB and Grizzly I can tell you that the Grizzly set at low gain on the overdrive side is very similar to the PPB. In fact the breakup on them is very very similar, almost to a fault as they both kinda choke identically on the B string from my active basses. Thing about the Grizzly is the plethora of tools it provides. Clean boost, overdrive, distortion, mid scoop, and low pass filter.

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Pedal characteristics are definitely open to interpretation, but I would have to disagree that the PPB and Grizzly are really close tonally, at least based on my experience.

The Grizzly is fantastic and you can finesse lots of clean thump and edge-of-breakup drive (without really breaking up or distorting), but the Grizzly is way more transparent. I flipped it because it was almost too transparent and didn't offer any magical enhancement like the PPB. There's an added presence, sparkle, and fatness to the PPB that gives it a more unique character, and that gave me more girth and life in the mix compared to the Grizzly. I like the funkulator/mid-scoop on the Grizzly (along with some moderately dialed in OD) for some fatness and grit, but I found that readily available with my Mesa D-800+ controls. The PPB's qualities are a different beast...

Pedal characteristics are definitely open to interpretation, but I would have to disagree that the PPB and Grizzly are really close tonally, at least based on my experience.

The Grizzly is fantastic and you can finesse lots of clean thump and edge-of-breakup drive (without really breaking up or distorting), but the Grizzly is way more transparent. I flipped it because it was almost too transparent and didn't offer any magical enhancement like the PPB. There's an added presence, sparkle, and fatness to the PPB that gives it a more unique character, and that gave me more girth and life in the mix compared to the Grizzly. I like the funkulator/mid-scoop on the Grizzly (along with some moderately dialed in OD) for some fatness and grit, but I found that readily available with my Mesa D-800+ controls. The PPB's qualities are a different beast...

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Also keep in mind I have the trimpot on the PPB dialed all the way down which makes a difference in how they compare.